Dog rescue is a sad and dark place but as a rescuer regardless of all the horrible things you see... the abuse, the neglect, the death, the ones you can't help, the mean and cruel people... you deal with it for the dogs. You put on a happy face and you deal. This blog is to help one dog rescuer deal and hopefully show other rescuers they are not alone, even though it feels like that most of the time.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

I have a situation with a person that I will kindly call Mr. Crazy. I am really starting to get scared about what Mr. Crazy may do, I am seriously. I am fearful that I or one of my animals is going to end up hurt or worse. That is not a very good feeling. I try to go on with my day and do my normal routine but it is very stressful to always be "on the look out," to hear a noise and jump up to check on what it might be, to be afraid to allow the goats, the donkeys, the dogs out in their fence because something might happen. I am working on affording a camera system to protect myself and my animals. This is definitely the worse feeling ever...

I have 3 people who want to give their dogs back. Only 1 is because of circumstances. They truly love the dog but life has thrown them lemons and unfortunately there isn't a way to make lemonade. Honestly, it is harder for me to take back a dog that I know is loved and wanted but do to circumstances can't be kept. The other 2 just make me shake my head. I hope with some couching and thinking it over they get a better out look on life and decide to keep the dog but my hopes aren't high so I am making arrangements.

I did get in 3 new dogs today. They seems to be really nice little dogs. The one is a little hyper right now but I have a feeling he will settle down. At least I hope.. LOL!

Just feeling a little overwhelmed and unsure. Unsure about when the dogs will be returned, unsure of what Mr.Crazy will do next and all the request for dogs that need help. I feel like everyone in the state of Ohio with a 8 - 13 year old JRT wants to turn it over to rescue. Jesus people you have had the dog for this long what in the world could be so bad you need to find it a new home now??

Then I get an email from a girl, I am not even calling her a women who has a lab mix who is due to have puppies any day now and this is her 2nd litter. They are moving and can't afford to take the mom and puppies with them.

Ok, honestly I am a little upset about this and feel that the ball was seriously dropped. The women told me that they gave 2 of the puppies to a local rescue group. WHY THE HELL DID THE RESCUE NOT EDUCATE THIS GIRL AND / OR FIX HER FEMALE! I will be calling the rescue and talking to their director. I am really disappointed.

What the hell is the point of doing rescue if you don't educate. Keeping your mouth shut and just taking the puppies isn't helping anyone. EDUCATE! If you take the puppies fix the female. So, what it costs you $100 - $200 to fix their female would you rather place another 70 plus puppies? I would rather spend the money then bringing more dogs into this world!

This rescue shit SUCKS! You are fighting a battle every day that you are NEVER going to win, you are NEVER going to see an end to the suffering, you are NEVER going to see the day where there aren't puppy mills, you are never going to see an empty shelter... NEVER EVER

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

People giving dogs away "Free to good home" and then I get emails like this:

Hi my name is Mary. I run a rescue in XXXX. I received a frantic phone call this morning from a man who recently adopted a jack russell. He has only had the dog less than a week and is already to dump in a shelter( GRRRRR) He claims the dog is around 20 pounds and is mixed breed. Unsure on any shots and is not neutered. He was a Free to good home on craigslist. They are unequipped to deal with the dogs issues and asked me to take him. I am really full right now and can not take this on. I am hoping to find the dog a safe place before the end of the day or I fear they will take him to a shelter where he will most likely not get adopted. I can be reached at XXX-XXX-XXXXThanksMary

THIS IS SO COMMON! People dump their problems on someone else and then that person who has NO emotional attachment to the dog dumps the dog and then what happens..

DEAD DOG!

I guess the kill shelter is better then abused.

Seriously I think FREE TO GOOD HOME should not be allowed! Well really I wish craiglist didn't exists for animals to be traded like inanimate objects.

Monday, January 24, 2011

It makes you feel worse that as a rescue person who has to make the HARD calls when you have to put a dog to sleep for being aggressive and other people (rescue or not) tell you how you could do this or you could do that!

It is a hard decision to decide a dog has to be put to sleep. Don't ya think I have thought of every possibility; different training methods; looked for the perfect home; etc.

It is just frustrating because it makes you feel horrible like you are giant piece of poo. Ok, well it use to make me feel that way, now I just get MAD!

I had a dog for 2 years working with him and he DID GREAT! With me.... with me being the key word. If I was going to keep him forever then he would still be alive right now but I wasn't going to keep him forever and actually let's reality check this... I would have put him down even if he was one of my forever dogs. He was so aggressive with new people that he would get COMPLETELY out of control and I don't think there was a person he didn't bite.

I have way too many people, kids and new dogs (oh yea he would attack new dogs too and he was an 8 pound min pin) that come to my house regularly. He was one bite away from SERIOUSLY injuring someone and / or being killed by another dog.

I have worked with dogs and thought.. thought being key word here... that I had worked through their issues just to receive the phone call from the adoptive family that the dog bit someone... once the call was a father calling me to tell me that the dog bit his daughters 8 year old friend IN THE FACE! I had worked with this dog for about 4 months and then after that he was in a foster home that worked with him for about 2 years. So, that is nearly 2.5 years of working with a dog, it taking up a foster home while NON BITING dogs die in a gas chamber!

Ok so you tell me what is harder.

#1 put to sleep peacefully, humanely a dog who is aggressive. Having him go to sleep feeling loved and wanted.

OR

#2 keep the dog for however long it takes to find "THE PERFECT HOME" or work with him for as long as it takes until he is totally rehabilitated. Ok that is your decision then I want you to go to any county website, look into the eyes of a dog at the shelter who is NOT aggressive and tell that dog I am sorry you are going to die alone, scared in this cold, smelly place where no one pays you any attention, where you barely get enough to eat, you have no toys, no bed. You sleep every night on a cold, wet, dirty concrete floor. You are going to be so excited when a man comes to take you for a walk... little do you know that it is the last walk you will ever take. You will be put in a box with other dogs and the box will fill with gas. you will begin to panic. There will be a dog in the box that is dog aggressive and can't hand the pressure of not knowing what is happening and will begin to attack you until the gas starts to take effect and you die.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

It is so not fair that people are SO mean to a dog it makes them mean.

When it comes to dogs who bite there are several different types

*Scared biters - these dogs bite, snap, growl totally out of fear. They usually come around after you work with them and become normal dogs. It does take a lot of patience and honestly I usually let them come around on their own. Just let them be part of the pack, learn to be dog... I honestly think in all the dogs I have rescued I have never had to put a scared dog down for biting.

I did have one dog that was so scared that he didn't bit, but he FREAKED out and would squeal at the top of his lungs and pee ALL over himself and you and alligator roll. After 2 months and 2 foster homes we did have to put him down. It totally sucked.

*Crazy biters - these dogs bite with little do no warning. Something sets them off and it varies what it is... the wind, another dog, a bone, food, closing a door, opening a door. The poor dog is totally unpredictable. You know that they are either like this because their breeding is HORRIBLE or because someone beat them crap out of them and their little brain is just scrambled. These dogs there is absolutely nothing you can do, they aren't adoptable. I always give them time and hope they are going to come out of it but I yet to have one who does. One dog I even worked with for nearly 2 years... I was young, naive to rescue and wanted to save them all... learned my lesson there.. LOL

*Power biters - these dogs bite when they aren't in power. They are doing something wrong and you tell them no or you want them to do something like go to bed, leave a room, get off the couch. If they don't want to they will growl, snap and if you aren't quick enough bite. At first they act submissive, roll over on their back, crouch down when you tell them no or you tell them to do something. Then as they get more comfortable, they growl... then as they get even more comfortable the start to get really nasty.. Like going to eat you nasty. THEY WILL BITE! It is just a matter of when and how bad that you don't know.

You can try to work with these dogs but a lot of times they are not rehabilitate able. At least not enough to be adopted out... AND THAT REALITY SUCKS!

These poor dogs are this way simply because someone beat the living shit out of them SO MANY times that they are defensive and in their minds "they are going to get you before you get them" Honestly these dogs are the hardest for me. I think to myself if I work with them enough we can over come this. Sometimes I have been able to over come it but as soon as they are adopted out they revert right back and well every dog that showed this issue has come back either for biting or for coming darn close to biting. NOT COOL! That just makes me a bad rescue person by putting others in danger. And I feel like an a -hole because I knew the dog had the potential but thought I had worked through it.

Well I am sorry to say that I have learned my lesson on Power Biters and I am sorry to say I am putting down Power Biters... it just isn't worth the risk of someone getting hurt.

I think that pretty much sums up the reason dogs bite.. And honestly it is ALWAYS a humans fault. ALWAYS!! Either for abusing an animal to make them this way or because they in breed the parents and now the offspring are just not wired correctly.

UGH! This sucks, I have to have a dog put to sleep who I really like but he is a power biter. He is a sweet dog, good with other dogs, good with cats but the more comfortable he gets with the people around him and you tell him NO the NASTIER he gets. He will hurt someone and I would never be able to live with my self if he did.

Poor guy. So, not his fault he is this way. UGH! this dog rescue stuff sure does SUCK sometimes.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Thank you everyone for your comments here on the blog, via email and facebook.

I can't use belly bands for two reasons. Eddie is so round that it doesn't fit very well. Try putting a belly band on a balloon. Now you know what I am working with here. lol. Also, when he pees he PEES A LOT so it soaks the pad and belly band so much that he is then walking around the house "dripping" Yea, that is LOADS of fun!

I did try the pee pads but it is 50/50 that he actually uses them. I honestly think sometimes he just can't help it.

So.....

Today we bought Eddie diapers. Hopefully this will work. We also bought him a track suit.. LOL! I was told that extreme heat or extreme cold can be harder on dogs with heart failure. Yea, well tell Eddie that he isn't allowed to go outside and be with me. He is totally fine when I leave for work but it is like he knows the difference of me going out the door to go to work and me going out the door to do stuff in the barn or garage. He totally freaks out. I have been dressing him in a sweater and then a coat on top of that but still he seems cold... today when we were at PetSmart they had 50% off clothes and we found this really warm track suit. It is so funny!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Poor Eddie.. we got him in early summer from Miami County Shelter. He went through 4 months of heartworm treatment. Darn heartworm wouldn't go away. Then he was neutered and then it all went down hill from there!

Eddie is in congestive heart failure. He will never get better and is basically staying alive by taking medicine 3 times a day. The heart failure is causing water to surround his organs and makes him look pregnant. When this happens it makes Eddie very uncomfortable. The medicine helps keep the water gain down.

The heart failure makes it hard for Eddie to breath, he tires easily and is hungry all the time. The water collecting around his organs and the medicine to stop that from happening make Eddie THINK he is thirsty so he drinks a lot of water.

Well what goes in must come out.. Eddie pees ALL THE TIME! He even pees in his sleep...

Eddie IS housebroken and will bark at you to let him outside but he has to pee about every 1/2 hour and sometimes he just can't help but pee where ever he is standing at the moment. If he is barking at you and you just can't go let him out because you are in the shower, cooking something, washing dishes so you have to dry your hands first, I mean anything where it might take a minute to run to the door he can't help but pee. The pressure hurts him....

I am ALWAYS picking up pee. Last night in 4 hours he peed in the house 4 times. And was let out what feels like a million times.

Tonight in 1 hour he peed in the house twice.

He has been peeing in his sleep which I learned the hard way by letting him sleep next to me one night. Where ever he sleeps we have to make sure he has the washable pee pad under him and EVERY day for about 2 weeks now that pee pad has been washed.

I am just not too sure how much more I can take. He isn't ever going to get better, the extreme heat and extreme cold make his symptoms worse and honestly when it gets warmer out I am afraid he is going to wander out of the yard.

I work all day so the only person home to let him out is my mom and God lover her, she just doesn't remember things like when she lets the dog out she needs to let them back in. My dad is just careless and doesn't pay attention so if Eddie were to walk outside with him, he would never know and I worry Eddie will just wonder off.

I just don't know what to do. He is happy probably for the first time in his life. You can totally tell who ever owned him before was really mean to him. He peed on the floor the other night and my husband said "Eddie what did you do that for" and he said it in this real funny voice.. not a mad voice at all and Eddie got so scared he ran and hid under the bed. Every time Eddie thinks you are mad at him he runs and hides under things. Poor dog.. some beat the crap out of him.

Eddie LOVES to come out to the barn and play with the other dogs. He follows me absolutely everywhere. He is a sweet little dog but I just don't know how much more I can take. The cleaning of pee is driving me crazy. Thank God I have hard wood. I mean except for my bedroom and at the rate Eddie pees I will need new carpet soon.

Obviously he is not up for adoption and I would keep him if I could find a solution to the peeing. My life is nothing but cleaning up Eddie pee.

I don't know what to do. Should I put him down? The vet said he wasn't sure how long he would live... eventually the heart failure will take his life but when will that be? A year? 10 years? next week? No one knows and I am not sure how much longer I can go on with a living breathing pee bomb that spontaneously explodes about 10 times a day in my house.

I feel like a horrible person for even thinking of putting him to sleep but I seriously might loose my mind cleaning up pee.

Last night Eddie was driving me crazy with needing to go out and with peeing in the house that he slept in a crate last night.. he hasn't had to do that in months. The crate was FULL, like poured it out of the crate.. full of pee. The bed that was in there was TOTALLY soaked, you could ring it out.

I just don't know what to do... I keep thinking if I can wait til the weather gets warmer but what does that matter? It isn't going to be much of a life if I have him leaving in the kennels just to keep my sanity by not having him in the house peeing on everything. I mean the kennels are fine for a dog that is there temporarily but for a dog who will never get a forever home.

UGH! I am starting to feel like one of those crazy rescue ladies who has a bunch of dogs at her house that are totally not adoptable because they are aggressive or sick and she refuses to put them to sleep because she doesn't believe in euthanizing an animal... IDIOTS! If a dog is in pain put it to sleep.. mental or physical. See but Eddie isn't in pain because the medication helps with that.. so now what do I do?

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

According to statistics released at the close of 2010, Ohio now ranks SIXTH (up from seventh in 2009!) among the top 10 states with the most USDA 'Class A' licensed commercial breeders!

The Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions remains steadfast in their commitment to send a strong message to state legislators that dog auctions serve as a major distribution channel for buyers and sellers from 15 states, many of whom have long standing repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act and/or have been convicted of animal cruelty!

As Ohio voters and taxpayers, we are committed to supporting a ballot initiative to ban these events from our community! We need everyone's commitment to collect a minimum of three petitions of signatures from registered Ohio voters by Deccember 1, 2011!

REMINDER! Please join advocates from across the state for the Ohio Companion Animal Lobby Day in Columbus on Wednesday, April 6 from 10-2 PM!

We will be hitting the halls of the state capitol to advocate for bills and ballot initiatives to address issues impacting the welfare of companion animals that are occurring right here in Ohio.The day will be action packed – a briefing, lobbying, and a press conference, all of which will provide the perfect opportunity for us to urge state legislators to recognize animal cruelty, dog auctions, puppy mills and breed-specific legislation as serious issues and take action to effectively address them in Ohio.And - you don't need to be an expert in lobbying to take part!

There are many new legislators in Ohio as well as incumbents, who do not yet know that Ohio is only one of four states which do not have a subsequent-offense or first offense felony animal cruelty law and has enacted statewide breed-specific legislation. And many may not be aware that Ohio has the only dog auction east of the Mississippi which attracts buyers and sellers from 15 states, many of whom have long standing, repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act or have been convicted of animal cruelty.

Watch for more details on 2011 Ohio Companion Animal Lobby Day the week of January 24!

B. JANUARY 15 PEACEFUL RALLY AGAINST THE OHIO DOG AUCTION!

Saturday's Ohio dog auction was blessed with 17 supporters who braved the 31 degree weather in Charm to serve as a strong voice for the dogs! We also wish to give a special thanks to Deborah and Mike Lucas, who shared their heartfelt story about Sophie, a puppy mill rescue from MN breeder, Wanda Kretzman (Clear Water Kennel), and Faith Dower, who drove seven hours round trip from WV to join our pack of dedicated animal advocates!

The highlight of our January 15 rally was a double bonus; receiving recognition from a Holmes county resident who confirmed that our campaign to raise awareness of Ohio dog auctions and their relationship to puppy mill breeding is gaining tremendous support from the locals, and rescuing five beautiful companions (a poodle, two Yorkshire terriers and two bichons) as part of our undercover investigation to be aired in the next two weeks on Local 12 WKRC TV (Cincinnati, OH)!

The next Ohio Dog Auction is scheduled to take place on Fri., February 25, 2011 at 4 PM in Farmerstown, OH! Over 100 dogs are expected to be consigned by Ohio breeder, Eugene Miller. Click here to view his USDA Inspection Reports.

C. STAND UNITED TO SERVE AS A STRONG VOICE FOR THE DOGS!

Given the tremendous outpouring of support followingDr. Nancy Kay's excellent article on dog auctions,we are encouraging everyone to write to the following elected officials asking them to support a ban on Ohio dog auctions. Emphasize that you will not be spending any dollars in Holmes County until this event no longer takes place in their community!

Again, we greatly appreciate everyone's support and dedication to our campaign! Thanks for continuing to serve as a strong voice for the dogs!

P.S. We invite you to join the over 2,250 voices who have become members of our Face Book group, Ohio Voters against Puppy Mills and Dog Auctions. Membership is FREE, and our portal serves as a great vehicle in which to receive timely updates on issues and campaigns addressing Ohio dog auctions, puppy mills and the entities that support and keep them in business.For more information on how you can become a member,please click here.

P.S. You or someone you know has requested you be added to the Columbus Top Dogs email list. If you do not want to receive emails from columbustopdogs.com, please reply and put "remove from list" in subject. Thank you!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Other rescue people, non rescue people, my foster homes, my friends and maybe even my adopters might think I am crazy for keeping in touch and making sure I stay in touch with all of the people who adopted from me. I have rescue friends who say "how do you have time?" I don't, I make time and the bigger my rescue grows and the more dogs I place, I realize I am going to have to find volunteers to help me but it is VERY IMPORTANT to keep in touch with the families who have adopted the dogs I have placed.

WHY? I am sure you are asking. Well many reasons, I want to make sure the people who adopt from me know they can come to me for dog advice when needed. It helps me learn and how to make sure I am matching people and dogs up properly. If I just adopt out a dog and never talk to the people again how am I going to know if I did a good job, an ok job or a bad job of placing that dog and if I don't know how can I improve? how can I learn to be better at matching people and dogs?

The other reason is because I really do care about every dog I place and I want to make sure they are safe and don't end up homeless again. By me keeping in contact I can 100% guarantee it kept 2 dogs from either being put to sleep or thrown out on the streets.

Daphne this sweet scared little black and white dog that Lisa (a foster home) and I placed in early 2007. The couple was really nice, young and had just gotten married. The wife had a son from a previous relationship, I think he was 9 years old. The dog was really to be his dog.. 2007 and 2008 everything was going great with the dog. Then when I sent out my Puppy Party e-vites the email bounced back. I sent a letter regular mail asking for them to reach out to me. Right around Christmas 2009 the mother reached out to me. The email I had for her was her work email and she had quit because she had a baby and the couple moved to a new house. She at that time stated her husband no longer wanted Daphne and she was glad to receive my letter because she was hoping I could take Daphne back.

A very long story short they did return Daphne and after gathering more information from the wife. I believe the husband was being abusive towards the dog and the husband was also a little put off by the boy since the boy wasn't his. The husband was threatening daily the wife and boy that he was going to "get rid" of the dog.

SERIOUSLY! Could you imagine if I hadn't of stayed in touch? Where would Daphne be?? I LOVE LOVE LOVE that dog. The foster home how originally had her as a foster is keeping her forever and I just love going over there because Daphne jumps all over me and is so happy and licks me. I love that little dog. It almost makes me cry to think, she could be dead or God knows what right now.

Another example is my Splash. I LOVE that dog too... ok yea whatever I love them all.. LOL! But seriously I wanted to keep Splash. She is a cool dog. I kept in contact send a holiday card every year to her family and sending the e-vite for the puppy party every year. They weren't all that interested in keeping in touch with me but I kept in touch anyways.

November I think it was I received a random email from the women owner of Splash. She was contacting me first because she new I cared a lot about Splash and wanted to see if I would take her back. She said "Splash has changed and I am going to either need you to take her back or I will be putting her to sleep or take her to a shelter" WHAT?????!!! OH no you aren't! Was my reaction, in my head.

I emailed her back and said what is going on? She gave me a bull shit story and excuses. She said she was contacting me because I had kept in touch and she knew I liked Splash. Well first of all lady, you signed a contract so you have to give her back. I didn't say that but wanted to.

Long story short, I got Splash back, she is totally fine, the lady's story was bull shit and the truth was she took Splash to the vet and was totally scammed by the vet who charged her nearly $400 for routine check up and vaccinations and Hubby who never wanted to the dog in the first place got pissed and said DOGS GOT TO GO! Own up lady, tell the truth and don't make up lies. UGH!

Now imagine what would have happened to Splash if I wouldn't have kept in touch? She would be sitting in a shelter somewhere, scared, alone.. DEAD by now, she is a black dog and we all know those are the last adopted and the first killed.

My rant today is because people might think I am silly, crazy, ridiculous or over the top for making sure I keep in touch with all my adopters and if their emails bounce back to me, I call, I send letters I do what I need to until I get a response but honestly if it wasn't for me doing that Splash and Daphne would be where? would be dead? would be suffering? Who knows!

And those are only 2 very recent examples... I have more examples but those two are probably the most extreme b/c those dogs were adopted 4 years ago.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

2010 was a crazy year, I learned a lot and had some heartbreaks but what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right!?

In 2010 this is what happened

* 6 litters of puppies* 183 Dogs rescued* $15, 000 in vet bills (remember I do my own shots!!)* Grand total of dogs placed 558 since November 2005* $3K leg amputation* 3 cancer dogs* 4 heartworm positive dogs* Bladder stone surgery for a dog* Chaz, my personal dog passed away :-(* Congestive heart failure dog who has now become part of my family until his time comes* Adopted dog passed away after being hit by a car* Adopted dog from 2007 returned and due to health issues had to be EU'd* Adopted dog from 2007 was put to sleep by owner after battling cushings* Adopted dog from 2008 died from cancer* Eye removal surgery* Started offering Micro Chipping* Received a discount from a Pet Insurance company to offer to adopters.* Rescued and adopted out a deaf dog* Rescued and adopted out a blind dog* Had to put an old dog down because she was so sick* Had to put a dog down for mental illness and unexplained aggression* Had to put a dog down that had uncontrollable seizures* Had to put down 4 dogs for uncontrollable aggression issues.* Had to put an older dog down for health issues* Had a dog with a broken jaw* Took in 95 pure breed JRT's* Got some amazing new foster homes* Have meet a lot of cool people and great adopters* Was only $300 in the hole...* Did our first fund raiser with Love-a-Stray at Quacker Steak* Rescue received $400 from Pay It Forward on Fox 8 News in Cleveland Ohio* Full page color article in the news paper about me and the rescue efforts* I won an award at work for dog rescue* Courtney a foster home got married* Andrea a foster home and Senior Rep had a baby* Kim/Bob foster home had a baby